Hi;
I'm new to the forums and just purchased my first CRV a few days ago.It is a 2003 two whl drive with 149K on it.It runs very good and seems in good condition.The previous owner gave me some paper work from service work done in the last year.One of those was the replacement of the primary O2 sensor.He told me that the service engine light had come on and he took it in for that.They charged him $469.00plus.Well I have had it for 3 days and 121miles and the engine light came on while I was in traffic.I don't have a scanner for cars(just honda motorcycles)so I stopped at an Autozone.It came up code 0420.Something in the 02 or cat.converter. Well I was on the Interstate this morning for about 5 miles and the light went off and has stayed that way for the rest of the day.
I guess what I'm asking is if the light is no longer on is the code still there?And is the problem still there?I am hoping that the little honda is going to be good to me.Since 1999,we have had 5 new Maximas,2 used Sentras,3 new rogues,and one used altima.The two sentras racked up over 200k and the altima 159K the rest were 48K to 69K and no engine light problems.I bought my wife a new pilot the second week of june(she has over 20K on it)and she has loved it.That is why I bought the CRV.Did I buy the wrong Honda?Am I going to have problems out of the CRV?
Any coments or advice would be appreciated.Thanks in advance.Anyway I have put 300 plus miles on the CRV this week and I really like it.Hope it is a problem that can be fixed and not be a happen again and again one.

 

You can't compare a vehicle with 150,000 miles to brand new vehicles.... Anyways, p0420 is a catalyst inefficiency code. If the computer detects that there is too much hydrocarbons on the exhaust post catalytic converter 3 times in a row the light will turn on. If it detects 3 times in a row that its fine, the light will turn off. Problem is, if your engine never makes it to normal operating temperature before turning off the car, it will always run in closed loop and run rich, so your post cat HCs are going to be high. Plus it is winter, so air temps are lower which means it requires more fuel for proper burn, so it'll run a bit richer there as well. It's probably just the weather, leave it alone unless you get repeated issues.

 

Thanks forn the input.I just get nervous when switching brands and have a problem almost right away.Prior to buying all those Nissans we drove GM cars.It was a 1991 Astro van that made us switch brands.I just got tired of constantly fixing something.Had a 1982 S10 that i put a V8 in and drove it for 10 years trouble free.(that was over 189k miles) I have repaired Honda motorcycles for a living now for 44years(and counting)and believe them to be the best you can own.The systems in the cyles work a lot different than the autos(though similar).I look forward to a long relationship with honda cars.
On another note,would a set of wheels from newer crv(17") work well on my 2003?The ones on mine are the steel rims and could use an upgrade.
Thanks again.

 

Yeah they're the same bolt pattern and I believe offset. I'm running 2012 civic SI wheels on my 98 crv.

 

Things I have read seem to suggest a week cat/converter.The crv has had it happen a couple of more times.If that is the only problem(not something serious)I can live with it.When warmer weather gets here and it still does it, I will deal with it.In the meantime I am getting to like this little car.I have only put 300pluss miles in the past week and a half but I do believe i like it.If it is half the car that my Honda bikes have been over the last 50 years I'll be happy.
Thanks for the input,i am grateful.

 

to answer some questions, if the light does not illuminate, the problem can still be present. as mentioned, the ecm will turn the light off after 2-3 warm up cycles with no fault found. the ecm wil clear the code completely after 40-80 warm up cycles with no fault found. if the code does not clear completely after 80 warm up cycles, there is indeed a problem. also, the ecm has no way of detecting hydrocarbons. the o2 sensor reads oxygen content and that's all.
also, the engine does not need to reach operating temp in order for the ecm to engage closed loop. the heated circuit of the o2 sensor enables it within about 45 seconds of start up if the heater circuit is working accordingly.
i'm not even sure why the PO replaced the primary o2 sensor. it's the secondary o2 that monitors catalyst efficiency. unless possibly the primary o2 was in fact bad and is what took out your cat and now here we are. there are a couple of ways to check this. one is to use an oscilloscope and back probe the secondary o2 sensor. i won't go into much detail on this method since you probably don't have access to an oscilloscope. but if you do, i'll walk you through some tests.
the other method would be to swap the primary and secondary o2 sensors. clear the codes. now see if the problem follows the o2 sensor. if you still get the same code, the problem is likely the cat.
if it is, the real issue as to why the cat failed should be resolved before just replacing it. which, as i'd mentioed, could have been due to a failed primary o2 sensor when the vehicle was in the PO's hands